My Onsrud blades need sharpening already. I need to get a couple of table saw blades. I’m noticing more mention of the blade stabilizers for the thin kerf blades. Do you use them?

I’m looking at Freud P410 and Forrest WWII 40 tooth. The Forrest “suggests” the use of stabilizers. If I go that route, the blade and stabilizers will cost me about $135. The Freud doesn’t suggest them. Hmmmm….

It’s like I can get the Freud P410 AND the Freud LU87R010 24 tooth ripping blade for less than it would cost to get the Forrest blade even if I don’t buy the stabilizers.

Now that I have a decent band saw (Delta 28-203, 1hp) I don’t see myself ripping anything more than about 3/4 on the table saw. I might rip as thick as 6/4 but really have no plans to do that. Just sayin’ it might happen. Then again…. bandsaw….

ANYWAYS… I’m thinking the P410 as the daily driver on the table saw. I am getting to where I mostly cut plywood panels and 3/4” hardwoods (crosscut and rip). If I ONLY get the P410, I’ve saved enough to send the Onsrud blades out for sharpening (Ridge Carbide?).

I would LOVE some help getting my brain around how I should be thinking in terms of blades. I know I want a couple more for the band saw (I have a 1/4” 6TPI right now and that’s it), But I have to be a little careful on budget. I still need to get more maple to finish this darn kitchen, some kind of mobile base for the band saw, hemlock to build an enclosure for my smoker, so much stuff I need to do. So I don’t want to burn all the money on table saw blades.

11 replies so far

I have some thin kerf Forrest blades and I use the stabilizer on them. I have never tried them without it. With the stablizer they produce a very clean cut. A very talented woodworker in the area told me he always uses them on thin kerf blades, so I just followed his advice.

apparently, it reportedly rivals the performance of a WWII at a fraction of the cost. it’s in my shopping cart for my next amazon order. if you get it, you can sharpen the onsrud and put the savings towards BS blades.

and as for BS blades, i’d avoid timberwolf blades like the plague (misaligned welds don’t make for good BS blades) and go to iturra design. no website and seriously old school, they can be reached here:

i wasted months trying to rectify a BS vibration problem that was ultimately the fault of 4 NIB timberwolf blades, all with misaligned welds. one new lennox blade from iturrra cured almost cured all the ills of the BS i had at the time. he is the only place i go for blades and one of the most knowledgeable people in the country for all things BS related.

can’t help with the maple and hemlock, but this mobile blase form woodcraft seems like a very sturdy base and is currently on sale:

Years ago, when I purchased my Delta table saw from Woodcraft, they suggested that I put a single blade stabilizer on the nut side of the blade. They argued that if you put one between the blade and the flange and adjust the ruler on your fence that way you can’t get the full width dado installed without removing the stabilizer and then the ruler on the fence is not correct.

I’ve never noticed a difference with or without stabilizer. With good quality blades spinning on a well tuned saw that’s running true, you really shouldn’t need a stabilizer…especially if the lumber is flat and straight. It’s a profitable item for vendors, so many companies suggest them…it’s more right than wrong, but I’d hold off if you don’t need them. If you’ve got an obvious problem, the stabilizers can help, but note that they’re more of bandaid than a cure for another issue that should be resolved.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

knotscott,I have the Steel City 35990G. Contrary to what they say in the documentation, it did NOT come from the factory with everything aligned. :)However, the arbor runout is less than .0015, blade to miter slot is at about the same. Less than .002, but more than .001. Table and wings flat and coplanar. I couldn’t believe my Onsrud blades would need sharpening already. I’ve only done one kitchen worth of cabinets (3/4” 13-ply plywood, walnut up to 6/4 and hard maple face frames and door frames) So I tweaked alignments hopinh it was just an alignment error on my part, but alas, I have the original Steel City 40 tooth and it cuts MUCH better than the Onsrud blades at this point. No burn in the maple with the Steel City blade and the Onsruds both burn the maple pretty good. The Onsruds I have are a 60 tooth and a 40 tooth combination. Both are .098.

I ordered the Freud P410 full kerf. I don’t think my saw will have a problem with it. Also ordered the thin kerf 24 tooth freud for ripping. (LU87R010) If the wood starts getting thick enough to bog the table saw, I now have a decent band saw that should help a lot. But I also want to get a 1/2” 4TPI for the band saw. Right now I only have a 1/4” 6TPI.

Wow….you don’t waste much time! Your saw will have an easier time spinning the 3/32” P410 Fusion blade, plus both of your blades will be the same thickness so your cursor will be spot on for both blades. But the full kerf version should be fine for common thicknesses. The Hi-ATB grind on the P410 is going to give impressive results on crosscuts and ply, plus will leave a real shiny edge on rips. It’ll be more prone to burning on some woods that most 40T blades, but you can always raise the blade a little higher…..keep it clean! The downside of the Hi-ATB is faster dulling.

A consideration before it’s too late to change your order…the Delta 35-7657 is a 40T ATB blade made in the USA that’s pretty similar to other top shelf premium blades like the WWII, Tenryu Gold Medal, or Ridge Carbide TS2000. Large C4 Micrograin carbide for long life and many resharpenings. It’ll give glue ready edges, will do a very good job in most cuts, and will make a good showing against much more expensive blades. Its clearanced @ < $30 shipped from Cripe Distribution. Food for thought.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

Knotscott has it right. If the saw is aligned correctlyand the blade is sharp, there should not be any need for stablizers. I tried them on an older saw I had and didn’t notice any difference. Stablizers should only be considered a bandaid, not a fix.

$17.99 on Amazon from Peachtree. Just bought one. If it’s that good, it worth just buying and having it here. hehehe.

The 2 Freud blades will be here Monday (I love Amazon Prime!). The Delta blade won’t be here until the end of the week. That will keep me moving forward on the kitchen stuff.

Also got the mobile base built and got it under the bandsaw myself. I thought that was going to be a real bear to accomplish. Tip it this way, slid the base under as far as it’ll go, tip it back and when it’s half way, give it a haul and it slid right into the base all nicey nice.

I think I’m set for table saw blades for now. Now I have to get a couple bandsaw blades. :)